March 10, 2010

UK livestock auction group supports electronic identification for cattle

Discussions in the UK about extending electronic identification (EID) from sheep to cattle have won support from the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA).

It said the system, controversially introduced for sheep on January 1, could have real benefits for the industry if all sectors of the cattle industry buy into the idea and exploit its full potential.

The UK farm ministry, Defra has set up a panel of stakeholders to examine the idea and costings following EU proposals to improve accuracy, increase efficiency and reduce risks associated with manually recording cattle movements.

Despite the widespread opposition to EID in sheep, supporters of a bovine scheme said there would be clear benefits for cattle which are already individually identified and have their movements recorded.

LAA chairman Alastair Sneddon said a small number of UK farmers already use EID to manage their livestock. He believes the system could be a quick and easy alternative to the current passport system, using an electronic identifier on the animal rather than a barcode in its passport.

A number of overseas breeders already use EID to help them exploit data on parentage and performance to improve genetic evaluations, especially in beef production.

Electronic identification could be used by producers as a management tool for milk recording and feeding, as well as capturing breeding data, health status and carcass weight and grading, Sneddon said.

Defra said the discussions were still at the scoping stage.

A spokesman said, "There is no firm commitment or timeline for implementation yet, but further talks are expected later this year."